I Remember You Before You Were Famous!

“He just looks too plain”, She said critically.

"I think He looks good enough, it is just the question of will the world think he looks good enough”, the man sitting next to her in that smoke filled audition room grumbled.

It was not like he could not hear them as they were sitting no less than four feet in front of him. He was a seasoned actor, but mostly in soap operas and not a lot of people could tell you his name. This was hopefully the “Big break” he had dreamed about.

"Alright”, said a man slouched against a tired looking file cabinet. “Let’s see you raise your right arm, kinda like your flying you know?”

 

 

As soon as his arm was raised, they all looked at each other with a glance that said it all.

Christopher Reeve had just become Superman!

 

This was the unknown becoming known.

 I have been reading the book of Jeremiah in the mornings lately and talked about him quite a bit in the post, “The Message in The Mire”.

He was a great man that God used to do great things for Him. I noticed something in the first chapter that really encouraged me. It was the about the known back when he was unknown. It was Jeremiah’s audition if you will.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

                                                                                                                ~Jeremiah 1:5

What a spectacular recording of a very private and personal encounter between a very young and timid prophet to be and the God that he has been chosen to speak for.

The calling of God is a very powerful thing.

In the first chapter of Jeremiah we see God outlining both Jeremiah’s purpose and direction.

“See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”                                                                                                     ~Jeremiah 1:10

If you were just to read this one passage it would make you ready to hit the field and drive for the touchdown!

Then, as it goes down the chapter, I can see Jeremiah’s grin begin to fade as he stops taking notes and lifts a finger as if to say, “Umm, what was that part about being afraid of their faces? Whose faces exactly should I not be afraid of? You mentioned that twice now and I just want to be on the same page here.”

“Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.”

                                                                                                                  ~ Jeremiah 1:17

Then the Lord gives a surprising answer.

“For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.” ~Jeremiah 1:18

The whole land? As in everybody???

"This “Word of God speaking stuff” is going to be a bit of a lonely road huh?"

Then God gets specific.

“…, against the kings of Judah,..”

Ok. Kings I get. Their power and agendas go to their heads and they very easily start to think that it is them and not God.

“…the princes…”

Check! Princes are just little kings in training. Assistant kings that get the “Malice in the Palace” lessons from the king.

Then the air gets thick and heavy.

“…Against the priests…”

Huh?

 

“Aren’t we supposed to be on the same side here God?” I can hear him ask.

I mean we all have the keys to the church so to speak right? So the priests have the same problem as the kings and the princes? (Read Ezekial 34 to get the picture of what the priests had become)

They all have an agenda that opposes yours and they all in their hearts are fighting against you God?

It is a trickle down rebellion.

“…and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.”                                                                                                 ~Jeremiah 1:18-19

This is the Gideon test here.

There are no specifics of exactly what is entailed in the words, “…Fight against thee…” means.

Jeremiah did not have the book of Jeremiah to read the details and outcomes of his journey with God.

He could not have seen the mocking, the beatings, the torture, the prisons or even the mire that he would be allowed by God to be placed in because of the words that God had placed in his mouth.

That was all covered back before he was famous in the statement:

“And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.” ~Jeremiah 1:19

That phrase covered any event that was on the path ahead.

Jeremiah was prepared for the walls on his path before he had ever reached them because he had a promise.

What promise is that?

“for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.” ~Jeremiah 1:19

Think about that!!!

That promise was not to take him around the mud puddles, but rather to take him through the mud puddles!

That meant that there was a divine purpose for any obstacle that would be on his path.

“GOD’S PURPOSES, NOT HIS FAIRNESS DICTATE THE EVENTS OF MY LIFE”

God is not angry with you. He is writing the story of your life!

God is preparing you for what He has purposed ahead.

You have been called, equipped and your provision and protection has been guaranteed!

And this all took place back before you were famous!

 

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Multi-Tasking Allowed

 

“I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”  ~Psalms 9:1-2

 

I want to introduce you to a very special person. This is Blake and he is my son, and Blake has a tremendous ability. Blake can teach. Blake cannot only teach, but he is a tremendous teacher.

My fourteen month old son Blake has taught me more about worship than anyone else in the whole world.

When I come home from working all day, one of my most favorite things to do is to get out of the truck and just stand on the porch and wait for the show. I enjoy the sight of my children with their faces smushed against the glass storm door. They cheer and squeal as I walk across the porch and as soon the door opens I am hit with requests that range from light saber duels to princess tea party R.S.V.P.s. I hear knock knock jokes peppered with sibling wrong doings and a multitude of questions.

Let’s go back to the glass door for a minute.

The two older children are smushing their faces against the glass competing with each other to see whose funny face will make daddy smile first, and then below them is Blake.

 

He has his little arms extended out as tall as they will stretch, his little chubby palms open to their fullest, and his face reflects utter focus on his daddy. He beams a smile because he has been seen by his daddy and his eyes are firmly fixed on mine.

Wiggling unsteadily and banging his hands on the glass storm door, his entire little body is literally shaking with anticipation of being lifted up and held by daddy. He is waiting to be safe in daddy’s arms, hugged, and kissed before being told, “I love you son!”

So when I read psalms 9, this is what I see. The fantastic anticipation of a child waiting to experience their Daddy’s presence.

”I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart;…” ~Psalms 9:1

We live in a society that encourages if not demands that we multi-task. The maximum output of activity in the minimum amount of time.

I am all for time management and productivity in as many areas as we can with the exception of the dedicated time that we give God.

When was the last time that you focused your undivided attention on Daddy?

When have you blocked out every noise and distraction to just extend your arms, hands, and attention and fully focus on Daddy’s gaze?

 Does your praise time with Daddy resemble the picture of  fourteen month old at storm door?

If not, why not?

His arms are extending towards you even now as He crosses the porch.

He is looking forward to completely focusing on you as He holds you close. All day long He has anticipated you focusing entirely on Him so you can hear Him say, “I love you!”

 

Go ahead. I dare you. Put down the “Toys” that have occupied your time and attention all day long and run to the door. Disregard the voices around you and stop focusing on others exhausting efforts to make Daddy smile and you fix your gaze on Daddy!

Don’t multi-task your praise for Daddy.

“…with my whole heart;…” ~Psalms 9:1

 Climbing with you,

~Dan

 

 

Don't Miss the Message in the Mire

Jeremiah was a very interesting man.

The nation of Israel had a very distinct cycle that she went through in her relationship with the Lord.

Jeremiah was given the privilege to be the one to preach the Word of the Lord to a nation that for the most part was determined to go to hell in a hand basket.

The people would listen, but the leadership would not hear of repenting. After all, they were the leaders so there could be no problems right? Wrong. Hence the need for a message from a messenger named Jeremiah.

In fact, in chapter thirty six, we find God telling Jeremiah to write down the judgment that God was preparing to drop and have that read to the people. The people were afraid so they funneled it to the king. When the king heard God’s word explained to him, he cut up the portions that he did not like and focused on the portion that seemed to fit his ideals. He ended up burning it altogether.

Since Jeremiah delivered the message, obviously he was the real problem; the King demanded that Jeremiah be silenced. Not only did the king destroy the message, but he sought to destroy the messenger.

Chapter thirty seven continues the tug of war between Jeremiah and the people who claimed to be the Lord’s people.

Verse two tells us that neither the king nor his servants heeded God’s words, but they still took the time to go through the motions of feigning and interest in Him. Appearances were everything at this point and as long as they appeared on the outside to be interested in God’s message then that had to count for something right?

Verse four uses the phrase regarding Jeremiah, “They had not yet put him into prison”. This indicates a future event that is going to happen to him.

The thing about God’s word that gets us is that it very often differs from our agendas. There may just come a day when God, in His mercy to you, sends a Jeremiah into your kingdom. This Jeremiah will be a person that has an obvious and established walk with the Lord and they are brought to you to challenge your agenda. This is from the Lord so be careful how you deal with this Jeremiah. It helps to just ask the Lord, “Lord, why did you send someone here (or in some cases several some ones) that love you, but they are just not ON BOARD with my plans and way of doing things?”

It very well may be that somewhere along the way it has become more about your goals and your agendas than it has about His goals and His agendas! Please understand, it is possible to have His name stamped on everything you have to offer, but the frightening truth is that He is no longer working there anymore and what is seen to be God’s hand is the sole result of forced will power from the king and his princes.

Jeremiah delivers the message of defeat to the king and then he leaves the kingdom. He knew what talking to a wall looked like.

Insecure people take God’s moving as an attack against their kingdom and against themselves personally. The king takes Jeremiah’s leave as just such an attack and has him thrown into prison. Out of sight out of mind and now he could consider Jeremiah officially shunned!

Chapter thirty eight is where the message lies!!!

The king needed to isolate Jeremiah from everyone else in his kingdom; because there was a chance someone would look around and ask, “Hey, where is Jeremiah been lately?”

 

Jeremiah is then thrown into an even deeper prison. The prison is so deep that the ones putting Jeremiah away use ropes to lower him into it. If you speak the Lord’s message where He places you, don’t be surprised if it is taken as a threat to man’s agendas. This is exactly why the Lord gives you the opportunity to speak the message where man’s agendas are superseding His.

When Jeremiah reaches the bottom of this pit, he sinks into deep and disgusting mire.
Jeremiah is now in a light less place. It is dank and it smells of forgotten and abandoned. The only sound now is his own breathing , tears, and weakening voice.

Oh yes, there is also the powerful opportunity to hear the Lord’s voice!

I imagine that the mire confused Jeremiah more than a little bit. Surely he could be far more useful to the Lord speaking in the busy gate or walking among the people? He might even have preferred to at least be in the prison on the surface.

 

I have three little children and often they need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and they cry out for help in finding the bathroom. I go to their rooms and take their hands and tell them to, “Just follow daddy” as I lead them where they need to go. They cling tight to me as we walk in an environment where they cannot see. Sometimes God allows us to be placed in a dark situation so we can cling tightly to Him and remember who our trust needs to be in.

 

No one wants the MIRE in life.

The MIRE is where our footing is unsure.
The MIRE is where we feel alone and forgotten.
The MIRE a place where our own tears are all that can seem to be heard.
The MIRE is a place that feels deep and removed.

Most of us find ways to avoid the MIRE, because we detest even the faintest smell of it.

The truth is hard to read here, but:

“THE MIRE CONTAINS THE MESSAGE”

 

1.GOD IS AWARE OF THE MIRE.

I realize how easy it is for us to tell Jeremiah that God was in control all along because we have what Jeremiah did not. We have the book of Jeremiah. We have the whole story.

May I just remind you if you are in a miry place in your life right now that God has your whole story!

What Jeremiah could not see is that while he was in the mire, God was preparing an Ethiopian man to pull him out of that mire!

“Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.”
                                                                                                ~Jeremiah 38:7-13
Did you catch it?

It brought tears to my eyes as I read it. Why didn’t it just say, “So they pulled Jeremiah out of the pit”?

Our God is a God of details! The underarm is a very weak and tender place and God did not just deliver Jeremiah but every detail right down to the old clothes and rags used was planned by God!

God has prepared the deliverance for you and for me already. He has set aside the people, the ropes, and even the proverbial old clothes that He is going to use. God thinks of every detail!

2.THE MESSAGE IS IN THE MIRE.

While Jeremiah was in the mire, God speaks to him and uses the very mire to prepare the words and emotions with Jeremiah that will be needed to convey the final message to the king in exactly the way it would be needed to be conveyed.

He is released from the mire pit and now God has brought the king before Jeremiah to hear the last message.

Notice the words used in verse twenty two.

”And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.” ~Jeremiah 38:22

There is the mire again…

God has a message for you in the times of mire and you are either going to catch the message while in the mire or miss the message because of the mire.
That message is for you to use and he is providing the perfect blend of emotions and experience to help someone else that is at this very moment approaching their mire.

If you are in the mire right now, I want to encourage you that God IS aware and that He has every detail of your deliverance in motion. He has a message in the mire that you need to get.

Instead of struggling with the mire, look at your surroundings and just listen. God’s voice is easier to hear in the quiet times of mire than in the bustle of a gate. Listen for your message.

Instead of struggling with the Mire, loot at your surroundings and listen. Listen for your message. Others are waiting to hear that message that you have been allowed to receive.

Climbing with you,

~Dan

She did what she could

I want to invite you to go with me to a party.

I’m serious. I want you to dress up “all fancy and everthang” (As they say here in the south) and come with me to a very exclusive and invitation only event. You  do not even need to arrange for a sitter even though the party is all the way over in a place called Bethany. We can attend right here through the power of Internet blogging! Technology is wonderful isn’t it?

I want to invite you to walk up to the house with me. The evening is late, the night is dark and the house stands out like a brilliant twinkling star with the garden torches lit and the aroma that is passing through the windows tells us that this truly is going to be a massive feast! Even now as we make our way up the steps we can hear the loud hum of conversations and laughter erupt from stories and animated recollections of past events.

In Mark 14 we find ourselves at a party that is comprised mainly of celebrities so to speak. We are about to witness something more fantastic than most of the guests in attendance and more amazing than any culinary delight you will find here.

We are going to see someone who was treated like a coat rack.

What?

We are going to see someone treated like a coat rack?

 

 

 

Seriously???

We are at a party of biblical celebrities and we are looking for someone who is going to be treated like a coat rack?

Well, we actually are going to see someone that treated Jesus like a coat rack of sorts.

What we are actually going to see is an amazing display of…BELIEF.

Huh?

Belief. We are going to see a level of belief that makes The Holy God of the universe clothed in the flesh of humanity of Jesus Christ stop everything and make a memorial.

Who has this level of belief?

 A  fantastically charismatic religious leader? An apostle no doubt?

Not even close. This belief comes from a lady who did all that she could.

“It was a belief that was deeper than a just a mental ascent that Jesus is who He says He is but rather it is a belief that hangs everything on Him”

“And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” ~Mark 14:3-9

We know through this account as well as three other accounts the names of a few of those who attended the party.

SIMON THE LEPER: He had leprosy at one point in time. At one time he had not been allowed to own a house let alone be in the company of guests who were not card carrying members of the “L.L.C”. (Local Leper Colony)

LAZARUS: This guy was the original Tomb Raider. This guy had been dead! He was no doubt even at that moment wearing a “I spent the night in a tomb” t-shirt! He was four days deep in dead, and now here he is sitting at the end of the table cracking jokes about trying to return grave clothes because they were “too restricting.”

THE DISCIPLES: These were Jesus’s followers. They each had their own unique relationship with the master. One common denominator that they all had was that they all chose to respond to the call to follow the man from Nazareth. God in the flesh.

Jesus: Peace. God the creator’s expression of love to a broken creation.

Mary: This woman became the guest of honor because of a seemingly simple act. The act was a demonstration of a belief that went deeper than a mental ascent that Jesus was who He said He was, but rather a belief that hung everything on Him.

She displayed that belief by anointing Jesus.

I truly believe this woman to be Mary the Sister of Lazarus.

“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.” ~ John 12:1-8

The oil was supposed to, by custom, have gone to her brother Lazarus at his death. It was the responsibility of the next of kin to anoint the body of their loved ones. At the tomb it was Mary who protested the stone being rolled away because after only four days the body stunk. Why would the body smell after only four days if it had been prepared the way it was supposed to be? She had a choice to make when Lazarus died. Give my best to Lazarus, or save it for Jesus. She had heard Him teach.

“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.” ~Luke 10:38-39

She had heard his talk of crucifixion. She anointed Him because she knew that Her Lord would be crucified. She caught what so many others had missed. When they talked of Him rebuilding a temple in three days she knew He was referring to His death. She chose to save her best for the Lord.

She hung everything on Him.

If it is impossible to please God without faith, then how have you pleased Him today?

What have you done today that required faith to do?

Mary was willing to hang her life, reputation and her security of Christ and the fact that He was who He said He was.

I guess the long and short of it is the reality that my life is so very small in the big picture. It is a vapor, just a breath.  What better way to show God that He is the most important one and that I believe that He is who He says He is than to say:

“Father Here is my life, live yours out through mine. Take my box of alabaster. Soft and breakable and reserved just for you. Just a scent of perfume that lingers for a moment before being swept away by the evening air, let the vapor of my life surrender itself to you.”

 

Is your belief a mental ascent that Jesus died on the cross, or is it a belief that goes beyond that. Does it resemble a surrendered and trusting cry to hang everything on Him for whom He said He was and is?

She was memorialized because she did what she could.

Climbing with you,

~Dan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's all in who you know

I came across an event in the Bible that I had never read before in my entire life, in fact, I have never heard about it before. It snagged my attention and the more I read the more determined I became to write about this very unusual event.

 

Isaiah 37 finds the nation of Israel in a very tough spot. This was not unusual and it was in reality the status quo. You see, the nation of Israel went through a cycle that many people even today tend to go through to one extent or another.

 

This is the cycle that a very good pastor I had once in my life shared one evening. His name is Scott Baker and he pastors in the Faith Baptist Church in Belleville, Illinois.

 



 

This was the pattern that God's chosen people historically have always followed.

 

They were in the judgment phase of this cycle when this chapter picks up.

 

King Hezekiah has just been given the latest batch of, "I hate you and am going to kill you" mail from the king of the invading Assyrian army. 

These were not idle threats. This was very much the real deal.

 

In fact, the Assyrian king wants King Hezekiah to check out his "Bad King" resume and in verses 8-13 he lists some references for Hezekiah to check out.

 

It is a list of all the conquered kings that this Assyrian had put away. He goes on to say something to the effect, " Their gods did not help them and yours is just a crutch. You and your god will be another has been when I roll into town".

 

Have you ever been toe to toe with a bully before?

 

 

I am not talking about the emotionally challenged kid on the playground. Bullies can come in any form, position, or title. These are the people that seem to thrive on trying to place fear and intimidation into your life. They manipulate, shout, bluster, dominate, lie, and they come in all shapes and sizes.

 

The credentials that they received at bully school must be accredited because they appear to be able to back up their threats against you.

 

Maybe these bullies have already begun to inflict damage and you have found yourself questioning the source of your strength?

 

It happens to all of us from time to time.

 

Bullies come, threats are made, damage is done, and choices await.

 

"So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land." ~Isaiah 37:5-7

 

Verses 5-7 tell us that King Hezekiah had already received God's promise that everything would be ok, but when the voices raise, and the desk gets pounded those promises can appear distant.

 

May I just point out that it is not the promises that we need to cling to as much as it is the one who makes the promises that we need to cling to!

 

 

 

So the stack of hate mail piles up, because bullies love to produce threatening hate mail.

 

Then something extraordinary happens.

 

Hezekiah does something absolutely spectacular!

 

He does not cry to his kingly friends, he does not call an emergency staff meeting, nor does he run to those within the kingdom. He takes the mail to the church where he spreads it out before the one that he knows. He takes the mail straight to God!!!

 

"And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying,O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only. "

                                                                                   ~Isaiah 37:14-20

The best thing that we can do when persecution comes is to take the persecutor to the Lord.

This was not a case of, "Everyone  is attacking poor little me" because people disagree with me or my position on things. This was a very clearly spelled out threat on his life! This Assyrian king was on his way and blood was going to be spilled, the blood type was "Hezekiah A positive".

 

King Hezekiah lays the letters out and invites God to read them. He knew God and had an open line with Him.

 

Who you run to first in a trial truly tells where you place your trust.

 

The answer God gives is mind blowing to say the least!

 

You see, it is all in who you know.

 

"Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.   By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." Isaiah 37:33-35

God spells out the rules of engagement and the plan is simple. Bad guy comes...God wins.

 

Then comes the spectacular!

 

This is the part I had missed.

 

"Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."~ Isaiah 37:36

 

One.

 

Did you see it?

 

One angel comes and kills one hundred and eighty five thousand men Thor style!!!

 

I had to go back and read this several times because even after growing up in church I had never heard this story.

 

This was one angel. Then you read Hebrews 1:4 where it says that Jesus is "Being mad so much better than the angels..."

 

The amount of power God has is to incredible to even try to put into words.

 

Some time back there was some Spiritual Warfare going on here and God allowed me to see some of that power on display. I can only say that it has forever been imprinted on my mind His magnitude and intensity!

 

The angel was a messenger here and in verses 36 and 37 the Assyrian king received the message and rushed home to get to work writing out one hundred and eighty five thousand condolence letters.

 

He is killed by his own sons and Israel advances to the next stage of it's historical cycle.

 

I would like to make a few observations here:

 

1.AGENTS OF HURT WILL BE ALLOWED IN OUR LIFE.

 

These can be both personal and circumstantial.

 

Sometimes the goal is pruning for growth (John 15:1-2)

 

Sometimes the goal is correction (Hebrews 12:3-15)

 

Sometimes it is just because the world reacts negatively to God's light (1 Peter 4:13-16)

Sin is what sin does.

 

It is all ultimately for God's glory!

 

2.REMEMBER THE PROMISES

3.GO TO THE ONE WHO MADE THE PROMISES.

 

I want you to out loud ask yourself this question...

 

 

If He can send one angel to fill one hundred and eighty five body bags in one night, is it possible for Him to ___________________________________________ for you?

                                                                       (Fill in the blank)

 

 

Tough things come into our life and our circumstances seem precarious, but in all reality...

IT'S ALL IN WHO YOU KNOW!

 

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan